I need help choosing a reel

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I suggest something with centrifugal brakes either stand alone or dual brakes. A second hand citica or revo S are affordable and will perform well as you become more proficient. 

[Michael rodriguez]

Thanks everyone for giving me your suggestions I ended up getting a new Lews lfs speed spool at bass pro

[SFL BassHunter]

1 hour ago, Michael rodriguez said:

Thanks everyone for giving me your suggestions I ended up getting a new Lews lfs speed spool at bass pro

Cool, let us know how you like it after a few tries. 

Should be a good reel. Did it pair up well with your rod? 

[faygo1979]

For cheap baitcasters I can only recommend the H2o Mettle,  the Okuma Calera, or the Bass pro shops Pro Qualifier.  Those are the only under $100 baitcasters I would waste my money on.  If you look just above the $100 mark I would recommend the Diawia Tatula models.

[Angry John]

If your a right hander i just saw a for sale thread here with a pair of zillions in your price range.  They are used but these reels are not 100 dollar class.  There are many available mods and upgrades for this reel and it will last you forever.  Zillion is a quality product.

[fishnkamp]

Here is my two cents.  I presently fish with over a dozen baitcasters. Most of mine were Shimano  Chronarchs and Curados, BPS Extremes and a few Quantums.  A good friend, I met on his own fishing board a couple of years ago, put me onto Daiwas. He fishes HARD like 3 to 4 times a week on the Potomac and Upper Chesapeake Bay tidal rivers. He fishes for bass, but also catches big stripers and snakeheads. My first Daiwa was an Exceler as others have mentioned. That reel retailed for $99 and often would go on sale for $60, It is a smooth- nice handling reel. Right now NEW it is available for that $60 price from Tackle Warehouse. If your budget is sub $75 this is the reel to get. If you can go to around $100 then step up to a Tatula CT. Often they are available brand new online for around $100 shipped to your door.  That is a terrific reel that normally retails for $129. Both of those reels will serve you well for many years.  So far I have replaced over half of my reels and over the next 6 months I intend to replace my entire lineup. This will leave me with a mix of both right and left handed Tatula CTs, Tatula TYpe Rs and the one Exceler. I have them in a mix of retrieve ratios as well. 

[S. Sass]

The most common reels that have proven to be quality reels that can be had new in the $100 range or less are the Daiwa Tatula, BPQ, and the Lew's Speed Spool LFS. Just search these forums and those three seem to have been discussed for eternity. All three of these reels are excellent reels for the $ and have a long history to prove it. 

Great choice I have several of them and they have took a beating and still are going strong.

[NHBull]

Last summer I tried reals in every price category.

While a <100.00 real will certainly get the job done, an extra 30.00 brings a great bang for the buck and at that level the Dawaia is the way to go.

 

If it makes it more palatable, think of it in pennies per cast over 1 summer

[new2BC4bass]

20 hours ago, Angry John said:

If your a right hander i just saw a for sale thread here with a pair of zillions in your price range.  They are used but these reels are not 100 dollar class.  There are many available mods and upgrades for this reel and it will last you forever.  Zillion is a quality product.

 

Michael.....I think you need a second reel.  One of these would be a great choice.    Another excellent choice (new) for a 2nd reel would be the Tatula and Tatula CT...$95 on ebay.  However, once you start using that LFS I think you will not only want another baitcast reel, but will be willing to spend a bit more.  As already suggested, the Lew's Tournament MB would be a fine choice as would a Tatula Type R.   The MB can be found for under $110....the Type R around $130.

 

The Flea Market on this forum and the Reels 4 Sale on that bass boat forum are excellent places to look for used.  So are state bass forums such as the Texas and New York forums.  Very good deals can be found on all of them.

 

Best of luck with your new reel.  If you are like me, it won't be long before all you want to use are baitcast reels.  Then the fun begins.  

[Maggiesmaster]

Since you said you can go $150---my recommendation is to S T R E T C H it to about $165-170 & get a Lews Tournament Pro from Ebay.  I've bought several that way, and they're the best reels I've found.  People here have said less the less expensive Lews are good too, but  I don't have experience with them.

[CTBassin860]

If you can stretch it to 170 you might as well buy a curado 200

[Robert Riley]

On 12/29/2016 at 9:53 AM, Nor-Cal Basser said:

You can find a brand new Lews LFS on EBay right in your budget. They're solid reels with an aluminum frame. I'm a little weird about buying used reels unless I know the person I'm buying from, though plenty of people buy used reels without having any issues.

That^ 100%

[CrustyMono]

shimano curado bantam

[MassYak85]

Let us know how you like the LFS once you try it out for a while. It was my first baitcaster and I couldn't be more happy with it it's still going strong for me and still gets significant use despite being the cheapest reel in my arsenal. I cleaned it last winter and it's performing better now than it did out of box.